han geng's profile

Chinese Name: Han Geng (韩庚)

Korean Name: Hankyung (한경)

Ancestry: Nanai

Origin: Seoul, Republic of Korea

Born: February 9, 1984 (1984-02-09) (age 25)
Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China

Occupation: Singer, dancer, actor, model

Genre(s): K-pop, Mandopop, R&B, hip hop

Instrument(s): Singing, piano

Voice type(s): Tenor

Label(s): SM Entertainment

Years active: 2005–present

Associated acts: SM Town
Super Junior
Super Junior-M


Han Geng (born February 9, 1984), better known in Korea as Hankyung, is a singer, dancer, actor, a member of the Korean boy band Super Junior, and the leader of Super Junior-M. He is the only Chinese member of Super Junior and is the first foreign artist to break into the Korean music industry. He is one of the two members in the group who frequently performs Chinese martial arts in Super Junior's dance routines, the other being Sungmin. He is also known for his dancing skills, particularly skillful in Chinese traditional dances from the fifty-six minority Chinese ethnic groups. [a][2] He is seen as one of the four lead dancers of Super Junior and an important figure to further continue the Korean wave in China.[3] Han was also a torch bearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, being the first boy band member to be chosen in history.[4]

Pre-debut Years
Han Geng, an ethnic Nanai from Northeast China, was born in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China.[5] At the age of thirteen he joined Central University for Nationalities to perfect his craft in the dance industry.[6]

When he was preparing his graduation from the Central University for Nationalities at the age of seventeen, he was discovered in December 2001 at the H.O.T. CHINA Audition Casting that was held in Beijing, China, where the competition rate was 3000 to 1.[7] He signed a contract with SM Entertainment the year after, but it was not until early 2003 when he arrived to South Korea to receive private lessons in singing, dancing, and acting, as well as Korean language. A year later he was put in lessons with the rest of the trainees in SM Entertainment.

On February 6, 2005, SM Entertainment officially announced Han Geng as one of the twelve members of Super Junior 05, the first generation of the large all-male supposed rotational group, Super Junior. Han Geng was the first Chinese and the first foreigner to debut in South Korea, thus creating close media attention. Three months later after the announcement, Han made his first media appearance as a runway model, in a Fashion Show F/W general idea by Bum Suk.

2005–present: Super Junior
Further information: Super Junior

On November 6, 2005 after three years of training, Han Geng, along with eleven other Korean members of Super Junior 05, officially debuted on SBS's music program, Popular Songs, performing the group's first single, "TWINS (Knock Out)." The group released their full studio album a month later, and the album debuted as #3 on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.[8] As the group's second single, "Miracle", came to an end, his talent agency was about to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation, Super Junior 06. However, plans changed when the company added in a thirteenth member, Kyuhyun, and the company declared that future Super Junior generations were rumors. The group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially Super Junior. The new group hit big after they released their first CD single "U" the following summer in 2006, which became Super Junior's most successful single in the music charts, leading Super Junior to set #1 records in their music career since then. A year later in the fall of 2007, the group released their second official album, Don't Don, which became Super Junior's best-selling album and Korea's second best-selling album of the year.[9]

Han was chosen as the leader of Super Junior's third sub-unit, Super Junior-M, and on April 8, 2008, the Mandopop group debuted in China at the 8th Annual Music Chart Awards with their first single, "U".[10] The subgroup released their first Chinese-language studio album, Me on May 2, 2008. The album debuted on Taiwan's G-music combo charts as #2 and #1 on many of China's and Thailand's music charts.[11]

Visa

Before debut, Han entered Korea with a vacation's visa and had to return to China every three months for a new one.[6] After his debut in 2005, his company had him hold an E-6 (Entertainment Industry) passport for his longer stay. However, the passport strictly limited his promotional activities and appearances in various broadcasting corporations in Korea. According to law, a foreigner in Korea was only allowed to perform on three television stations, and he was allowed to perform on only KBS and SBS, as stated by SM founder Lee Soo Man during a Harvard Korean Wave conference in early 2007. Fellow labelmate, Zhang Liyin, was also under the same issue, also performing in Korea with an E-6 passport. Initially, the company did not know of the procedures, and had to be fined because of it. Before Han signed contracts with KBS and SBS, he performed on stage with a mask and hat on to hide his face on screen. Many thought Han was just a back-up dancer until three months later when bandmate Heechul finally revealed him to the media by publicly taking off his mask.[6]

Despite visa restrictions, Han was seen performing with the rest of the members at the 2007 M.NET/KM Music Festival and the 2007 Golden Disk Awards, both award ceremonies that airs on the channels that Han was restricted to perform in.[14] On August 1, 2008, the Korean government's law of restrictions on foreigners were lifted, and foreign entertainers in Korea are now allowed to perform in every station. However, Han is still unable to perform on MBC due to the channel's controversy with his company.





source: wikipedia